Rail-joint



Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

William E. B an??? WILLIA-M E. BECKER, 'OF SCI-IENECTADY, NEW YORK.

BAIL-JOINT.

Speeificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2., 1920.

Application filed September '17, 1918, Serial No. 254,484. Renewed August 1, 1919. Serial No. 314,727.

To ctZZ whom it may concern Be it known-that I, VVILLIAM E BEOKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railway rail joint-s and an object of the invention is to provide an efficient rail joint which will dispense with the employment of the usual type of fish plate and bolt, eliminating the inconveniences contingent therewith and also to provide a rail joint which is extremely simple in construction, durable and may be installed with a relatively small amount of work.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rail joint as specified, which will compensate for the expansion and contraction of the rail due to atmospherical conditions, and one which specifically comprises the provision of a locking key which is substantially in the shape of a double wedge and fits in recesses in the ends of the rails, extending upwardly from their under surfaces so as to allow the ball of the rails to be free from obstruction, and a chair which is slidably mounted over the base of the rails and engages over the port-ions of the meeting ends of the bases of the rails to prevent relative vertical movement of the rails and for coaction with the key member to securely lock the rails in their connected relation.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part. of this specification, and in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved rail joint.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the rail joint, and

Fig. 3' is a vertical section through the joint.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like characters are employed for designating like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 and 2 indi* cate the meetin ends of the railway rails, and these rails ave the web portion 3 increased in thickness at their ends, as shown at 4. These thickened portions of the web 3 are provided with recesses 5 which extend upwardly from the lower surfaces of the rails, passing outwardly through the bases 6 to permit the insertion of the key member 7 therein. This ke member '7 is thickerat its outerends, gradually decreasing in thickness toward its transverse center, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, and providing a key member which is substantially the shape of a. pair of wedge portions 7 having their thin edge portions joined. The openings 5 are shaped to snugly receive wedge portions 7 of the key member 7, one of the wedge portions being slightly shorter than the distance from the end of one of the recesses to the farther end of the other, as shown in Fig. 2 to compensate for expansion or contraction of the rails due to atmospherical conditions. In normal weather conditions both the wedges 7 of the key member 7 are in surface contact within the recesses 5 of the rail, but in the very warmest weather the rails will expand filling up the space 8 between the ends of the rails. The diflerencein the length of the combined wedge portions 7 and that of the recesses in the facing or meeting ends of the rails 1 and 2 is substantially equal to the space indicated at 8, between the ends of the rails. The key 7 holds the rails against longitudinal movement independently of each other and they are held against independent vertical movement by a. chair 9. The chair 9 comprises the base portion 10 upon which the under surfaces of the bases 6 of the meeting ends of the rails 1 and 2 rest, and the longitudinally extending flange members 11, the upper horizontal portions of which overhang the upper surface of the bases 6 at their edge portions.

In assembling the rail joint, the key 7 may be first mounted in the recess 5 in one of the rails, and the chair 9 slid over the base 6 of this rail inwardly of its end, after which the other rail is moved downwardly, in a vertical manner over the key 7 or otherwise moved to cause the key 7 to properly seat in the recess 5 formed therein. This connects the rails against longitudinal movement with respect to each other and after they have been thus connected the chair 11 is moved longitudinally along the rail until it engages the base portions of both of the rail ends over the space 8 as clearly shown in the drawings, thus forming a secure connection between the rail ends which will allow expansion and contraction of the rails under atmospherical conditions without liability of the rails buckling or otherwise becoming distorted and without in any waydecreasing the efliciency of the joint.

Changes in details may be made Without departing from the spirit of this invention, but;

I claim:

In a rail joint, the combination with the meeting ends of rails provided with recesses extending upwardly therein from their bases, said recesses gradually increasing in width as they extend inwardly from the ends of the rails, of a key member seated in said recesses, said key member gradually increasing in thickness from its longitudinal center,

forming two wedge shaped portions one Wedge portion filling the recess of one of the rails, and the other wedge-shaped portion being slightly shorter than the recess of the other rail to permit the expansion and contraction of the rails under atmospherical conditions, and means engaging the bases of said rails at their meeting ends preventing upward and lateral movement of the rails independently of each other.

WILLIAM E. BECKER. 

